Golf club



April 23, 1940. s T 2.198.350

GOLF CLUB Filed semi 15, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'ILOR. Ken/762%5/77/27? ATTORNEYS April 23, 1940. K. SMITH GOLF CLUB Filed pt. 13,1957' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIITIIIIII WEI? Will

ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 23, 1940 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to golf clubs and particularly uniquestructurebuilt thereinto at the zone of connection between hosel andshaft and the primary object of the invention is the provision 5 ofmeans for preventing splitting of the relatively thin wall of the hosel,which means is of a unique character, lends rigidity to the club at thepoint indicated and enhances the appearance in a desirable way.

0 Another important object of this invention is to provide a speciallyformed tapered ferrule for golf clubs which is moved to position uponthe tapered hosel of the club head so that the part thereof at thenormally Weakest portion is compressed, strengthened and rendereddurable enough to withstand lateral forces exerted by the shaft duringuse of the club.

A yet further aim of this invention is the provision of a golf clubhaving the aforesaid novel ferrule in combination with a sleeve, rigidto the shaft of the club, which forms a shoulder that directly engagesthesaid ferrule to perform the duty of precluding longitudinal movementthereof in one direction. a A yet further aim of the instant invention,is

the provision of a specially formed ferrule for strengthening the end ofthe golf club hosel,

which is provided with a tapered screw fitted bore,

the screw threads of which progressively increase in depth as one end ofthe ferrule is approached.

Heretofore manufacturers of golf clubs have encountered difficulty inproviding strengthening elements on the ferrule of the club that wereeffective in precluding splitting when the shaft of the club flexed to agreater than normal degree.

It is known in the art that strengthening structures applied to golfclubs at the zone of connection between hosel and shaft, have includedwrappings or whippings of wire, cord, and the like,

which were shielded by coverings either of metal,

fabric, or nitro-cellulose materials, all of which,

however, were continuous from hosel to shaft.

This continuity of whipping, wrapping, shielding or similar structure,had a tendency to create a rigid, unitary body at the zone of connectionbetween hosel and shaft. The greater rigidity so established at saidzone seems to have only encouraged the tendency to break or crack therelatively thin end of the hosel. Such a crack or split 50 wouldinvariably appear below the end of the particular shielding used andwould promptly set up a doubt in the users mind with respect to thevalue of the club.

As indicated by the foregoing objects, this ini 55 vention contemplatesthe use of a strengthening metallic ferrule which preferably does notextend beyond the end of the hosel but which is in abutting relationwith a sleeve on the shaft in a transverse plane wherein lies the end ofthe hosel. Thus exteriorly the zone of connection between 5 hosel andshaft is covered by strengthening members which present a circumscribingseam which allows a desired amount of flexing where such action isneeded.

A large number of minor objects of the invention will appear during thecourse of the following specification referring to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a golf club made to embodythe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a prospective view of such a club.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary, partial, longitudinal sectional viewthrough the club taken on line III-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 3 show- 20 ing a modifiedform of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view but illustrating a furthermodification of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of the ferrule prior to its beingformed into a tapered, 25 internally threaded body.

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatical view illustrating one manner in which thecylindrical ferrule is forced into a forming die to make the taperedbody finally used, and, 30

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of a portion of a golf club hoselshowing the tapered ferrule in section and the relation between thetapered internal face of the ferrule and the tapered external face ofthe hosel. 5

Because of the problems which this invention solves, golf clubs of thecharacter illustrated are made to embody the invention. Such golf clubshave a wooden head III which continues into a hosel l2, the free end ofwhich is comparatively 40 thin walled, as at I4. I-Iosel I2 has itsexternal face tapered so that as end I4 is approachedthe thickness ofthe annular wall of hosel I2 progressively decreases to a substantiallyfeather edge. A longitudinally extending bore I6 is provided in hosel I2and the conventional type steel shaft I8 is fitted into bore l6 and.anchored inplace by the well known transverse pin 20, shown in Fig. 1.The end of hosel I2 is strengthened and radially compressed by aspecially created and positioned ferrule 22. This ferrule is all metaland in its initial form, is cylindrical as indicated by Fig. 6. Theferrule in its cylindrical form has a uniformly thick wall but theinternal screw threads 24 are out so that they become progressivelydeeper as one end of the ferrule is approached.

This said one end becomes the small end of the ferrule after it has beentreated in a suitable die 26, so that it presents a tapered body asillustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 8. After the ferrule of the form shown inFig. 6 is treated in die 26, it becomes frusto-conical in form andbecause of the pressure exerted, the wall of the ferrule 22 becomesthicker at the small end thereof than the wall at the large end thereof.The deeper screw threads 24 are at the smaller end of the ferrule andthe angle of taper of theinside wall, is different than the angle oftaper of the outside wall of the ferrule. Thus, when the ferrule 22 isin the operative position, its strongest portion is in compressingengagement with the relatively thin annular wall of hosel l2, at end i lthereof. In placing the ferrule 22 screwthreads 24 grip the wooden wallof hosel and compress the end It thereof as much as one sixteenth of aninch. The angle of taper of the inner face of ferrule 22 is greater thanthe angle of taper of the outer face of hosel 12 prior to the assemblyso that when the parts are in the relation shown particularly in Fig. 3,compression occurs at end I4 and shaft l8 and may be moved to place inbore "5.

Shaft i8 is provided with a sleeve 28 which presents an annular shoulder38 that abuts the end of ferrule 22 in a manner indicated by Figs. 1 and3.

In commercial practice the sleeve 28 is made of nitro-cellulose materialwhich adheres positively to shaft l8 and will not move with respectthereto, when longitudinal pressure is exerted against the sleeve. Adefinite seam is established where sleeve 28 and ferrule 22 come intoabutting relation and when a ball is struck, the flexing of shaft 18will sometimes cause a movement of sleeve 28 from the end of ferrule 22and hosel 12. It is at this point that so many of the heretoforeemployed structures failed, and as a matter of fact, some manufacturersslightly weaken the continuous type binding by scoring the same at thepoint where ferrule 22 and sleeve 28 come together in the assemblyillustrated. The outer faces of hosel l2, shaft I8, ferrule 22 andsleeve 28 are contoured so that they merge to present a smoothcontinuous surface at the zone of connection between shaft and hosel.Ferrule 22 cannot move longitudinally in either direction after theparts have been assembled and additional ways of embody ing theinvention so that the ferrule cannot move,

are shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The modified form of the invetnion shown in Fig. .4, contemplates theuse of a two-section ferrule having a form substantially the same asferrule 22 but made of alower section 32 and an upper section 34. One ofthese sections is provided with left-hand screwthreads 36, while theother section has right-hand sorewthreads 38 formed on the inner surfacethereof. Even in this form sleeve 28 may be employed as before set down.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5, shaft lll hasthreads 42 thereon which are in engagement with threads 44, formed onthe inner surface of sleeve 46 that is forced against the upper orreduced end of ferrule 48 that is devoid of threads. The relationbetween ferrule 48, hosel l2 with respect to angularity of taper, is thesame as described above with regard to ferrule 22 and hosel'l 2, and solong as sleeve 46 is forcing ferruleAB into compressing engagement withthe small end of hosel I2, the

same will be protected against destructive forces when shaft 40 isflexed.

From the foregoing it has been made clear that the structure describedcompresses the small end of hosel I 2 to a greater degree than theremaining portion thereof, yet without eliminating a. certain amount offorce against hosel l2 throughout the length of ferrule 22. p

The advantages of forming a zone of connection between hosel and shaftof a golf club, such as described above, will become apparent to oneskilled in the art and it is understood that golf clubs having physicalcharacteristics other than those illustrated and described, might embodythe invention without departing from the spirit thereof, or scope of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A golf club comprising a head formed from wood and having a taperedhosel provided with a longitudinal bore extending inwardly from the endthereof; a shaft with a portion thereof within the bore; and a metalferrule having a tapered, internal, screw-threaded face, fitted onto thehosel at the said end thereof with sufficient force to form threads inthe hosel and compress the same against the shaft, the angle of taper ofsaid internal face being greater than the initial angle of taper of saidhosel whereby a portion of the latter adjacent to the end thereof iscompressed to a greater extent than the remaining portion when theferrule is in place to force the extreme end of the hosel against theshaft and provide a maximum of gripping action thereon at that point.

2. A golf club comprising a head formed from wood and having a taperedhosel provided with a longitudinal bore extending inwardly from the endthereof; a shaft with a portion thereof within the bore; and a metalferrule having a tapered, internal, screw-threaded face, fitted onto thehosel at the said end thereof with sufficient force to form threads inthe hosel and compress the same against the shaft, the angle of taper ofsaid internal face being greater than the initial angle of taper of saidhosel whereby a portion of the latter adjacent to the end thereof iscompressed to a greater extent than the remaining portion when theferrule is in place to force the extreme end of the hosel against theshaft and provide a maximum of gripping action thereon at that point,said ferrule being thicker at its outer end and progressively decreasingin thickness as the inner end is approached.

3. A golf club comprising a head formed from wood and having a taperedhosel provided with a longitudinal bore extending inwardly from theendthereof; a shaft with a portion thereof within the bore; and a metalferrule having a tapered, internal, screw-threaded face, fitted onto thehosel at the said end thereof with sumcient force to form threads in thehosel and compress the same against the shaft, the angle of taper ofsaid internal face being greater than the initial angle of taper of saidhosel whereby a portion of the latter adjacent to the end thereof iscompressed to a greater extent than the re maining portion when theferrule is in place to force the extreme end of the hosel against theshaft and provide a maximum of gripping action thereon at that point,the threads of said ferrule progressively increasing in depth as theouter end is approached from the inner end thereof.

4. A golf club comprising a head formed from Wood and having a taperedhosel provided with a longitudinal bore extending inwardly from the endthereof; a shaft with a portion thereof within the bore; a metal ferrulehaving a tapered, internal, screw-threaded face, fitted onto the hoselat the said end thereof with sufficient force to form threads in thehosel and compress the same against the shaft, the angle of taper ofsaid internal face being greater than the initial angle of taper of saidhosel whereby a portion of the latter adjacent to the end thereof iscompressed to a greater extent than the remaining portion when theferrule is in place to force the extreme end of the hosel against theshaft and provide a maximum of gripping action thereon at that point;and a sleeve rigid with said shaft having one end in engagement with theferrule to prevent longitudinal movement thereof in one direction.

5. A golf club comprising a head formed from wood and having a taperedhosel provided with a longitudinal bore extending inwardly from the endthereof; a shaft with a portion thereof within the bore; and a metalferrule having a tapered, internal, screw-threaded face, fitted onto thehosel at the said end thereof with sufiicient force to form threads inthe hosel and compress the same against the shaft, the angle of taper ofsaid internal face being greater than the initial angle of taper of saidhosel whereby a portion of the latter adjacent to the end thereof iscompressed to a greater extent than the remaining portion when theferrule is in place to force the extreme end of the hosel againsttheashaft and provide a maximum of gripping action thereon at thatpoint, said ferrule being formed of two sections, the threads of onesection being right-hand threads, the threads of the other section beingleft-hand threads.

KENNETH SMITH.

